Yan Jizhao's POV
"The Oracle's temple is burning!"
I'm already running before Xiao finishes the sentence. Meilin is right behind me, ignoring her weakness from the poison. Feng follows, supporting her when she stumbles.
We burst out of the dungeon into chaos.
The sky above the palace glows orange. Smoke billows from the eastern section where the Oracle's temple stands—stood. Servants run everywhere, carrying water buckets. Guards shout orders.
"Grandmother!" Meilin tries to run faster, but her legs give out.
I catch her. "You're still weak—"
"My grandmother is in there!" She fights against my grip, panic making her strong. "I have to—"
"I'll get her." I push Meilin into Feng's arms. "Xiao, protect them both. No one gets near them. Understood?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
I run toward the flames.
The temple is an inferno. Heat hits me like a wall. The main building's roof has already collapsed.
"Has anyone seen the Oracle?" I shout at the servants fighting the fire.
"She was inside when it started, Your Majesty!" an old servant cries. "We tried to reach her, but—"
Another explosion cuts him off. Part of the wall collapses inward.
No. I won't let Meilin lose someone else. She's lost enough.
I grab a wet cloth, cover my face, and plunge into the burning building.
The smoke chokes me instantly. I can barely see. The floor creaks dangerously under my feet.
"Oracle!" I shout. "Where are you?"
A weak cough from the left. I follow it, dodging falling beams.
I find her in what used to be the prayer room. The Oracle—Meilin's grandmother—lies trapped under a fallen pillar. Blood streaks her face, but her eyes are alert.
"Your Majesty." She coughs. "You shouldn't have come."
"Meilin would never forgive me if I let you die." I try to lift the pillar. Too heavy. "Can you move?"
"My legs are trapped. But Your Majesty, you must listen—"
"Save your breath. I'm getting you out."
"The curse!" She grabs my arm with surprising strength. "It's breaking wrong. The girl has died five times, but the sixth—the sixth is different."
Another beam crashes nearby. We're running out of time.
"I know about the curse," I say, still trying to shift the pillar. "I remember everything now."
"Not everything." She coughs again, blood on her lips. "The curse isn't random. Wei didn't create it—he found it. An ancient seal, binding a chaos god. Your union with Meilin was supposed to strengthen the seal. But Wei corrupted it. Made you forget. Made her suffer."
"Why?" I finally manage to shift the pillar enough to pull her free. "What does he gain?"
"Every death weakens the seal. Five deaths means five cracks. One more, and the god breaks free." She clutches my robes as I lift her. "Wei wants to release it. To gain its power."
"Then we'll stop him."
"You don't understand." Her eyes bore into mine. "The sixth death doesn't just break the seal. It transfers the god's essence into Meilin. She becomes the vessel. That's why she keeps being reborn—the god is trying to claim her."
My blood runs cold. "So if she dies one more time—"
"She becomes the god. And the world ends."
The ceiling groans above us. We need to move now.
I carry the Oracle toward the exit, but the way we came is blocked by flames.
"There!" She points to a side door, half-hidden by smoke. "The servant's entrance!"
We make it out just as the entire building collapses behind us.
Meilin screams and runs to us. "Grandmother!"
"I'm alive, child." The Oracle smiles weakly as Meilin takes her from my arms. "Thanks to your husband."
"Don't call him that," Meilin says automatically, but her hands are gentle as she checks her grandmother for injuries.
The physician rushes over with servants carrying a stretcher. As they load the Oracle onto it, she catches my hand.
"Protect her," she whispers, too quiet for Meilin to hear. "Not just from Wei. From herself. The girl is angry enough to let herself die just to spite you. Don't let her."
Before I can respond, they carry her away.
I stand there, covered in soot and ash, watching Meilin follow her grandmother. She doesn't look back at me once.
"Your Majesty." Xiao appears at my side. "We found something."
He leads me to the back of the temple ruins. In the debris, someone has arranged stones in a deliberate pattern—a ritual circle.
"This was planned," I say. "Not an accident."
"And look at this." Xiao points to marks on the stones. "These symbols. They're the same ones we found in Wei's ritual chamber five years ago. When your brothers died."
So Wei did this. Wei tried to kill the Oracle.
"He's covering his tracks," I realize. "The Oracle knew too much about the curse. About how to break it."
"Should we arrest him?"
"On what proof? A ritual circle that anyone could have drawn? Symbols that could be coincidence?" I clench my fists. "He's too smart for that. Everything he does has plausible deniability."
"Then what do we do?"
I look at the burning temple, then at Meilin's retreating figure.
"We protect Meilin. And we find proof that even Wei can't escape."
That night, I dream again.
But this time, it's different.
I'm standing in the throne room. Meilin kneels before me in chains. Her face is bruised, her clothes torn.
"Please," she begs. "Please believe me. I didn't betray you."
I feel nothing. My chest is empty, cold.
"The evidence is clear," I hear myself say. "You sold military secrets to our enemies."
"Shen is lying! She framed me! Please, just investigate—"
"Silence." My voice is ice. "I should have known better than to trust an omega with empire matters."
Wait. That's not what I would say. I don't think of people that way. This isn't me—
But it is me. In the dream, I believe every word.
"Your execution is scheduled for dawn," I continue coldly. "I hope your betrayal was worth it."
"I love you!" she screams as guards drag her away. "I've always loved you! How can you do this?"
I turn away. "Take her."
The dream shifts.
Now I'm in my study, reviewing war maps. A servant enters.
"Your Majesty, the execution is complete."
"Good." I don't even look up. "Clear the courtyard and prepare for the morning council."
"Your Majesty..." The servant hesitates. "The Empress's last words. She said—"
"I don't care what she said. She was a traitor. Now leave me."
The servant bows and goes.
I continue working.
And I feel nothing.
Nothing at all.
The dream shifts again.
Suddenly I'm older. Years have passed. I'm standing at a window, watching snow fall.
Something feels wrong. Empty. Like I'm missing something important, but I can't remember what.
"Your Majesty?" Xiao's voice. "Are you well? You've been standing there for an hour."
"I'm fine." But I'm not. "Xiao, do you ever feel like you've forgotten something crucial? Like there's a hole in your memory?"
"Everyone forgets things, Your Majesty."
"Not like this. This is..." I struggle to explain. "Like someone cut out a piece of my heart, and I can't remember what was there."
Xiao looks uncomfortable. "Perhaps you should rest, Your Majesty."
I turn away from the window. As I do, I catch my reflection in the glass.
My face is older, harder. There are lines around my eyes that weren't there before. But it's my eyes themselves that stop me.
They're empty.
Dead.
Like I died years ago but my body kept moving.
"What happened to me?" I whisper.
The dream shatters.
I wake up gasping, drenched in sweat.
My chambers are dark. Moonlight streams through the window.
But I'm not alone.
A figure stands at the foot of my bed, silhouetted by moonlight.
For a second, my heart stops. Then I recognize her.
Meilin.
"How long have you been standing there?" I ask, sitting up.
"Long enough." Her voice is soft. "You were talking in your sleep. Calling my name. Apologizing."
I don't know what to say.
She moves closer. In the moonlight, I can see her face—and she's crying.
"I heard what my grandmother told you," she says. "About the sixth death. About me becoming the vessel."
"Meilin—"
"Is that why you're trying so hard now? Because you're afraid of what happens if I die?" Her voice breaks. "Not because you care about me. Because you're afraid of the god?"
"That's not true—"
"Then why?" She's at my bedside now. "Why do you suddenly care? The curse is breaking. You're remembering. But are you remembering because you truly loved me? Or because the curse is forcing you to?"
I open my mouth to answer, but I freeze.
Because I don't know.
Is this guilt? Returned memories? Or real love?
How do I tell the difference?
"I don't know," I admit finally.
She laughs, bitter and broken. "At least you're honest."
She turns to leave.
"Wait." I grab her wrist—that same wrist that triggers visions. "I may not know if what I feel is real or remnants of a curse. But I know one thing for certain."
"What?"
"I'm not going to let you die. Not for spite. Not for peace. Not for anything." I meet her eyes. "Even if you hate me forever. Even if you never forgive me. You're going to live."
"You can't control that."
"Watch me."
We stare at each other. The air between us crackles with tension.
Then she pulls her wrist free. "You can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved, Your Majesty."
She walks out.
I sit in the dark, her words echoing.
And I realize something terrifying.
She's right.
If Meilin wants to die—if she's tired enough, angry enough, hurt enough—I can't stop her.
Not with guards. Not with protection. Not with anything.
Because the most dangerous person to Meilin right now isn't Wei.
It's herself.